Critical care nurses care for critically ill patients who require invasive monitoring
and the administration of vasoactive drugs. Given the higher acuity of patient population,
these nurses should demonstrate critical thinking skills and feel comfortable working
with ventilators, numerous vasoactive drugs [e.g., nitroglycerine, sodium nitroprusside,
dopamine, amiodarone], In addition, these nurses should have a good understanding
of EKG interpretation and be able to apply hemodynamic values to their patient care.

Critical care units that usually provide this type of experience are coronary care
units, medical or surgical ICUs, and postoperative cardiovascular units. Other working
environments and arrangements may be acceptable but must be approved by the program
prior to application.

In years past, we have accepted nurses whose experience is exclusively neonatal or
pediatric, but it is the exception rather than the rule. The critical care experience
required of nurses prior to entering anesthesia school presumes that a certain knowledge
base exists when it comes to a number of chronic diseases of adulthood, invasive monitors
(i.e. arterial lines, PA catheters), vasoactive drips, etc. A lack of understanding
and nursing experience in these areas tends to make the early part of the anesthesia
school experience more difficult and stressful than it otherwise would have to be.
We do, however, look at each individual applicant in terms of what they have gained
from their ICU experience, and we do factor all parts of the application into our
decision for acceptance into this program.

Yes. Students entering the program need to be able to document current certifications
in BLS, ACLS and PALS on the first day of classes. Current status in all three certifications
must be maintained throughout the program.

Yes. We highly encourage all applicants to become familiar with the role of the CRNA
through "shadowing." Spending time with a CRNA is one of the best ways to learn more
about the profession and to determine if it will be a good fit for you.

If you are close to having two years of full time critical care nursing experience
by August 1 (for example, you have 21-23 months experience), you are still encouraged
to apply. As long as all requirements for admission (see "Admissions Requirements")
are complete by the the time we interview (late October/ Early November), your admission
status will be the same as all other students. Further, we will accept applications
from students who are due to receive their BSN in December (same year as applying)
as long as they have at least two years of critical care experience.

We receive approximately 110 applications per year. We traditionally accept approximately
20 students for each class but look more to applicant qualifications than to class
size when making the decisions each year.

No. Admission into our program is very competitive. All submitted applications are
reviewed by the admissions committee. Each application is trhoughly reviewed by the
committee with regard to GPA, GRE/MAT score, clinical experience, reference letters,
and personal statements. Invitations to interview are extended to those applicants
who the committee feels are most qualified to meet the rigor of the program.

Applicants for admission will be contacted within four weeks following completion
of the interview process. Individuals selected for admission must notify the School
of Nursing and Anesthesia department in writing, with their decision to accept the
position. If a candidate accepts the offered slot in the program, a $1,000.00 non-refundable
matriculation fee (a seat fee) will be required to secure the candidate's position
in the program.

No, the $1000.00 matriculation fee will be applied to your first year expenses upon
acceptance into the program. Further, we will only accept a cashier's check or money
order. Personal checks will not be accepted.

Please submit scores no more than five years old for the GRE/MAT exam. The Analytical
Writing test of the GRE is required. Weakness in one area can be offset by strength
in another area. There is no minimum score for application. When looking at each application,
we are looking for indicators of strong critical thinking skills - the information
obtained from GRE and MAT exams are part of the decision-making process. Our goal
is to admit students who will have the best chance at success in the program.

We do not require any pre-requisite undergraduate classes. Bachelors or post-bachelors
course work, however must be satisfactory. Given the strong science-based curriculum
of anesthesia. it is important that you can demonstrate undergraduate success in all
science-related course work (physiology, pathophysiology, biology, chemistry, pharmacology,
etc) If you make a "C" or lower in any of your science courses, we strongly recommended
that you re-take those course(s) to better improve your academic profile.

It is possible to transfer up to 6 credits of graduate work earned elsewhere. Only
courses in which a student has obtained a grade of “B” or better, and which have not
been applied to another degree, will be accepted. Following acceptance into the program
you need to provide the Director of the Nurse Anesthesia program with copies of course
syllabi as well as other documentation so that they can compare your course to that
at UTC. All nurse anesthesia courses must be completed at UTC.

Most nurses who already possess a master’s or doctoral degree have the option of earning
either an additional master’s degree or a post master’s certificate. In either case,
the number of required courses and overall program length does not change. The GRE
and MAT requirement, however is waived. Please go the Admissions section of the website
for more information.

The Council on Accreditation has mandated that Nurse Anesthesia schools move to the
DNP level by 2025. With this in mind, the School of Nursing is in the process of developing
the DNP in Nurse Anesthesia and eventually stop offering the MSN in Nurse Anesthesia.
Information will be available on the website as this transition begins to happen.

Financial Aid and Housing

Tuition and fees for the graduate student at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
for academic year 2011-2012 is approximately $3,896.00 per semester for in-state students
and $10,663.00 per semester for out-of-state students. Total tuition for entire program
(based on 2011-2012 rates) is approximately $26,758.00 for Tennessee students and
for out-of-state it is approximately $73,376.00. It is expected that there will be
an increase each academic year in tuition and fees of approximately 5% to 15%. Further
information regarding current tuition and fees for the MSN Nurse Anesthesia Concentration
graduate program can be found on at the Bursar's Office website.

Financial aid is readily available for nurse anesthesia students. Awards include aid
from Federal Stafford loans, Federal Nurse Anesthesia Traineeships, and potential
employers. Accepted applicants should contact the UTC Financial Aid office (423-425-4667)
when they are notified of acceptance. Begin the process early by completing the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on-line at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

No. Currently there are no private or public MSN CRNA education programs in the state
of Mississippi. As a result, students who are residents of Mississippi are eligible
for in-state tuition. This is made possible by the Academic Common Market (ACM).

This is a consortium of 16 southern states that belong to the Southern Regional Education
Board (SREB). Through this program, students wishing to pursue study in graduate programs
not available within their home states may be able to attend out-of-state programs
at in-state tuition rates. Currently, the following states are partners in the academic
common market: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida (graduate programs only), Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina (graduate programs with
restrictions), Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas (graduate programs only),
Virginia and West Virginia. Additional information on the Academic Common Market can
be found at www.sreb.org.

First, an explanation on the differences between the two. Integrated nurse anesthesia
programs typically arrange their curricula so that students participate in didactic
and clinical education concurrently while front loaded program students complete all
didactic courses before beginning their clinical experience. UTC's Nurse Anesthesia
program follows an integrated model.

Being enrolled in the nurse anesthesia program at UTC is a full-time endeavor for
27 months and the curriculum is very demanding. The time commitment involved averages
on a minimum of 40 to 50 hours per week in the clinical area and/or classroom. With
that said, we strongly discourage students from working during their time in the program.
Doing so could negatively impact your academic and clinical experience.

The baccalaureate degree in nursing, master’s degree in nursing, Doctor of Nursing
Practice and post-graduate APRN certificate at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org). The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is accredited by the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and the Nurse Anesthesia Concentration is fully accredited
by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Education Programs (COA).

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is located in the beautiful southeast mountains
of Tennessee in a progressive, mid-sized city that has been ranked as one of the best
places to live by Outside Magazine, National Geographic Adventure, and others. Chattanooga and the surrounding counties provide the student with a
wide variety of clinical settings for preceptorship, both private and public, preparing
the student for any practice setting.